Going on a hog hunt at Cooper WMA this Saturday. Anyone hunted there before. Did some scouting and also talked to the folks at the WMA Headquarters. Sign looks like there are alot of hogs. They had rooted up about a acre right by the dam. Headquarters folks told me they are near any of the 3 or 4 rivers that are connected to the lake.

Is it permissible to use a rifle to hunt hogs at Cooper?

i live 10 min away and there are loads of hogs there

Yes Cooper has a lot of hogs. Shotgun (buckshot or slug) or Bow. The dam area tends to hold a good number. I have hunted deer, hogs and ducks at Cooper for several years. (Brought home way more ducks than hogs and no deer yet). It’s amazing what those animals can do to an acre of ground in a short time…

Thanks for the input. I really like the area looked like a nice fishing lake also. I saw 4 does last Friday when I was there over by the WMA Headquarters. So many Hog & deer tracks it had me going in cirlces. There was still snow on the ground so lots of visable tracks.
We are looking forward to a nice hunt. StraitShot is right only bow or shotgun.

I will let you know what we see or harvest.

Well we had a nice time but no Hogs. I think my fault. I did not know the area well enough. Instead of going where I had found a very heavily used trail, I decided we should go North and head back towards the Dam and hopefully find the hogs in the heavy cover. But we still ran across alot of sign. We are going to try and head down in March for a couple of days so we are not leaving at 5:30 from Arlington.

try the area off of hwy 71 along the river. Ive run that arera since I was a little boy and its the best area around the lake for hogs and big deer.

fm 71

Thanks for the advice. We will certainly check it out. I will go up a couple more times to scout the area. We really liked the lake and the parks around there. May take the family up there camping in the spring.

Hey all,

Thanks partly to this thread, I'm heading to Cooper WMA tonight after work for a weekend of hog-killin.' I appreciate the good word on this place...I was actually told about it from the biologist at the Hickory Creek and Love Valley WMAs in Oklahoma. The guy said he's been told it fairly stinks of hogs!

Anyhoo, I'll be glad to do a post-hunt report if there's any interest.

BTW and FWIW, I'm new to the forum...obviously!

Finally, I just got off the phone with a guy at Cooper's HQ; he says if you're coming out there, be sure to wear your muck boots! He also said the WMA will be closed Feb. 23-24; I don't think that was on the website last time I checked.

Mike H.

good luck, let us know how it turns out.

If you wanna chase hogs at either Cooper or OSB you need to contact Operationporkchop!!!!!

Well, this report will be short; saw no hogs, lost my cell phone and got the truck stuck. Still, it beat the best day working!

On Saturday morning, I walked the berm from the CR 2082 entrance as far as you can go without a boat. There are tons of wallows and rubbings, but I'm thinking those pigs bed down elsewhere when it's chilly. Opinions?

BTW, I can vouch for the John's Creek Lodge if you need a place to stay; it's the closest place you can rent rooms on Chapman (Cooper) Lake (except the state parks, which were closed last week). The owner even pulled my truck out of the CR 2037 mug bog for nothing...I left him a nice tip for the trouble. He makes a nice breakfast taco, too!

Unlike a previous poster, I think I was in the right place at the wrong time. From what I've been able to gather, you've got to be there before dawn or after dusk. That's kind of a problem on public lands, right?

I'm open to any help on hunting WMAs!

Mike H.

I bet the hogs were in there, they'll just be holed up deep in the thick stuff with all the pressure. I heard they are flying the chopper on the WMA land, so thatll put a huge dent in them. Not sure how well theyll do in the large bottom areas with a lot of timber though.

Tx:

Yeah, a nearby landowner confirmed recent chopper action, too, and quite a lot of pig was put to rest. I was practically crawling through some of that brush, but they must've moved off farther south of the old channel...maybe south of FM 71, too.

I'm going to try my luck at OSB this weekend...

Mike H.

You ever hunted OSB???

M:

No, I haven't; I've heard when the river's out, I should probably bring a boat!

I'm open to any tips!

Mike H.

Mike. I talked with you on the berm Saturday morning. I headed over to the Bois d'arc Ladonia unit after we talked, but didn't see any over there either. Saw plenty of signs that they had been there, but no pigs.

I was thinking about trying OSB soon to, but maybe taking a canoe. Good luck. Let me know how you do.

Oh, hey! Yeah, I enjoyed our little chat! I was still in a good mood then, because afterward I lost my cell phone! Oh, well, I hated that thing anyway.

I remembered you were heading to Ladonia; sorry it didn't work out. I ran into a couple other hunters later that afternoon (a nice guy and his son) who had spent some time in the wetlands unit north of the berm, but it was no joy for them, too.

They met a hunter earlier who said there were hogs on the north side of the wetlands that day, which makes sense because that sounded like the direction of those shots we heard.

With more rain in the forecast, maybe I'll just go back to Cooper. OSB might turn into a lake in a few days!

Mike H.

Thanks folks, Son and I heading up there next weekend mar 11-13 for three days. That way we can be in place before sunrise. Have fun and be safe everyone.

What is operation pork chop?

Ed, how did you hunt the WMA? Set up in a good spot? Walked and hope to jump them? Just curious....

WHO is Operationperkchop!!!!!!!!!!

He can teach us all a thing or 2 about OSB and Cooper hunting!!!!

My idea was to set up on a active area before dawn, but we were late so we attempted to run and gun. My fault. Heading down again this weekend but camping close by. We live in Arlington so that 4 am or 5 and drive down is not too good.

Heading out to Cooper Early Friday. Going to camp down at South Sulphur springs. Hunt, Fri evening, Saturday and Sunday AM. Wish us luck.